A 56-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with a fire that destroyed a downtown Los Angeles apartment complex last year, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage to the unfinished structure and a nearby city-owned building [...].

Abdulwali’s arrest followed an intense investigation that began even before firefighters fully extinguished the Dec. 8 blaze at the seven-story Da Vinci complex.
— latimes.com

A rise from the ashes had always been in [developer Geoff] Palmer's mind for this charred housing project; he'd said in a statement back in December that the devastation at the building on the south side of Temple Street was just a 'temporary loss.' Now that all the wreckage from the fire has been cleared off the site, construction can begin.
— la.curbed.com

Officials have offered a $170,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the arsonist behind the blaze that consumed a seven-story building in the Da Vinci apartment complex and damaged the freeway and neighboring buildings. Investigators believe the suspect 'torched that building up from the freeway side and then escaped'...
— Los Angeles Times

Well, L.A. fire officials are revealing some details. The L.A. Times reports that L.A. Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Ruda informed Echo Park neighborhood council members last week that authorities have surveillance footage allegedly showing the suspect of the fire that engulfed a 7-story... View full entry »

Glasgow-based Page\Park Architects have been appointed from a shortlist of five companies who bid for the role.

They will now start work on a detailed plan for restoration. Work is expected to begin in spring 2016 with hopes for academic access from 2017/2018.

The art school is continuing efforts to raise £20m to pay for the restoration of the Mackintosh and its contents. [...]

They were lead designers for the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project from 2007-2009.
— bbc.com

If all goes to plan, the library that was damaged by a fire in May of last year will reopen for the 2017-2018 academic year. The Glasgow School of Art has provided additional information regarding Page\Park's restoration and working relationship with the School in a press release, presented here... View full entry »

Glasgow-based Page\Park Architects have been appointed from a shortlist of five companies who bid for the role.

They will now start work on a detailed plan for restoration. Work is expected to begin in spring 2016 with hopes for academic access from 2017/2018.

The art school is continuing efforts to raise £20m to pay for the restoration of the Mackintosh and its contents. [...]

They were lead designers for the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project from 2007-2009.
— bbc.com

If all goes to plan, the library that was damaged by a fire in May of last year will reopen for the 2017-2018 academic year. The Glasgow School of Art has provided additional information regarding Page\Park's restoration and working relationship with the School in a press release, presented here... View full entry »

The Fire, Buildings and City Planning Departments are writing rules to govern what are called occupant-evacuation elevators — cars that can, in special circumstances, be used to move people down in an emergency. [...]

Experts who have spent years studying building evacuations believe that approach has become outmoded and is in itself potentially dangerous as extremely tall skyscrapers increasingly pierce the New York skyline.
— nytimes.com

After almost a year of impassioned debate, the Glasgow School of Art’s Director has announced that its Library will be restored to its original state. [...]

In response to Professor Inns' statement, Professor of Architecture Alan Dunlop asserts below that Mackintosh himself sought new forms in architecture and that there are architects capable of designing a new Library to live within his original masterpiece.
— bbc.co.uk

Now millions of pounds are being raised towards returning the Mackintosh to its former glory, with the five shortlisted firms now being invited to detail their plans and make presentations in mid March. A winner will be selected later that month. [...]

The fire that broke out in May of 2014 destroyed much of the Glasgow School of Art's historic library, designed by Scottish architect Charles Mackintosh. Around 70% of the building's contents were saved by firefighters, but the library itself was drastically damaged. Restoration discussions and... View full entry »

The ATF national response team, at the end of its investigation, reaches one of three conclusions – incendiary, accidental, or undetermined. Given Thursday’s conclusion that the fire was determined to be "incendiary," or deliberately set, local authorities will probably launch an arson investigation to identify those responsible for the blaze.
— latimes.com

“When they came out of the quarters they could see it was fully engulfed,” fire department spokeswoman Katherine Main told the paper. “It was a building under construction in the framing phase. Almost 1 million square feet and a city block.”
— RT

Freeway signs melt and windows in adjacent buildings burst in the intense heat. Two buildings near the burning construction site are damaged and freeways are closed for hours.The fire which burned down an unpopular (among the architects) apartment complex a 7 storey wood construction in its final... View full entry »

"The people of Glasgow and many people far beyond were horrified when a few weeks ago fire ripped through the Art School, gutting its priceless library.

The UK government has already made a £5m contribution to the Mackintosh Appeal to help ensure that the building is restored to its former glory.

And we are today making an additional £5m contribution to support the School's new Graduate and Research Centre." — UK Chancellor George Osborne
— bbc.com

This past May, a fire destroyed much of the historic Mackintosh library at the Glasgow School of Art, a modern masterpiece by Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Now, as part of an increase in the UK's funding of Glasgow's life sciences, business and arts sectors, the School has the... View full entry »